Bradigan's parents Lawrence and Mary received two counts each for their failure to report the molestation to either school officials or the police when they first discovered it. Last January, James F. McCarty of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Lawrence accused the Strongsville school district of negligence for failing to pursue a criminal investigation of Scarlett. '"They asked her if she had sex with my son, and she said, 'No.' That was the extent of the school's investigation."

Ohio's teachers unions want to protect children but also shield teachers from "numerous" false allegations from misguided students, union officials told the House Education Committee yesterday.

"It is an unfortunate reality that educators are susceptible to being the targets of unfair, unfounded and horribly damaging accusations," said Rachelle Johnson, director of legal services for the Ohio Education Association, the state's largest teachers union.

Students who feel slighted by bad grades or too-little playing time on sports teams -- or who simply dislike their teachers -- sometimes lodge false allegations and destroy teachers' reputations, Johnson testified. When questioned about the frequency, she told lawmakers she didn't have specific numbers on hand.

The second day of committee hearings, prompted by a 10-month Dispatch investigation into the state's educator-misconduct system, brought few specific recommendations from the unions.

But an impassioned plea from parents of a teacher-abuse victim grabbed lawmakers' attention. "The health and well-being of our children depend on our voices being heard," said Mary Bradigan, whose 17-year-old son was seduced by a teacher at Strongsville High School in 2002. The student was a junior and captain of the football team.

Teacher Christine Scarlett gave birth to the student's child in 2003; the relationship ended a year later.

Scarlett, now 40, pleaded guilty in May to sexual battery and disseminating materials harmful to juveniles. She was placed on probation for five years and is a registered sex offender. She still holds a teaching certificate.

In troubling circumstancessuch as these outlined on this page, where the lives of ten human beings (Scarlett's and Bradigan's immediate families, plus the new son/grandson) have been permanently impacted, often the best for which one can hope is that something will be learned and changes instituted in policy and procedures guaranteeing that at least this particular mis-step can be avoided in the future. In February2006 I asked the following questions of Strongsville supe James Gray; to date he has not yet responded. Perhaps he's been busy.

Ask theethics expert

It just doesn't look good. It's not best face forward.

Most people would agree that where they live and where they pay their taxes, that's the community of priority to them, and that's the community they're going to pay more attention to.

So the ideal thing is for superintendents to live in the community where they work so their vested interests are more closely aligned.

In the private sector where we talk about stock options for executives, the point is to try to align the executives' interests with those of the shareholders.

This is a very similar concern in that the board would want to see the interests of the superintendent as carefully aligned with the interests of the education community as possible.

Is Strongsville supe James Gray still living in Akron rather than Strongsville?There is no indication anywhere that I've been able to discover that Strongsville trustees have required their superintendent, James Gray, to move from his home in Akron to Strongsville so that he can play a more hands-on role in their community and at least be alert to rumors circulating, the kinds of things you hear at the grocery store and the local coffee shop.

Given this lack of discernible response by either the supe or his board, it's difficult to see any such lessons-learned outcome for Strongsville City Schools.

I have been requesting a response from Gray and his trustees since Valentine's Day (unintentional timing on my part) two years ago, starting with "What rules/ guidelines do you now have in place to assure that nothing like this happens again?) (See the remainder of the query at right.)

To date, neither superintendent Gray nor his board have seen fit to send a response save one trustee whose response could most charitably be characterized as unofficial.

What corrective actions if any have Strongsville's supe and/or board taken?As by my calendar these questions have now been on the table for almost four months, alert

Strongsville residents are hopefully asking themselves serious questions about both their supe and their trustees.

NOTE TO STRONGSVILLE SCHOOL BOARD:It's easy and certainly pleasant enough to pose for happy-occasion photo-ops such as the one above right, and clearly congratulations are in order.

However, the real mettle of a school board is showing up also for the tough decisions regarding accountability--and being open with the community and the press--regarding how safe an environment they and their administration are creating for their schoolchildren. Clearly if superintendent Gray allowed the Scarlett/Bradigan situation occur under his nose without his knowledge, the trustees need more than assurances from the administration that with Scarlett gone now all is well.

Lightning does strike twice; just today comes a report of a new situation in the same school (see (3) at far left).

Then-Strongsville trustees in celebratory mood

How we take back our children's education:one person, one question, one school at a time.

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Copyright 1999-2008 Peyton Wolcott

POP QUIZ:

How do you yourself know for a fact that your state or local supe is actually using the funds entrusted to them for the correct purposes?

Can you please send me the annual dollar amount for each school year (the five annual fiscal cycles 2000-2005) that the Georgia Public Schools DOE has spent with vendor Computer Consulting Services Corp., described as a consultant to Georgia's DOE.

QUERYTHE SUPE(& CC THE BOARD)

DATE SENT: 02.14.06DATE RE-SENT: 03.26.07RESPONSE RECEIVED:NONE

Dear Strongsville Superintendent James Gray:

I'm hoping you can clear something up for me for my book and website regarding your standards for administrative practices in Strongsville as there have been not one but two situations this past year warranting scrutiny....

Regarding special ed teacher Christine Scarlett's offering a date with herself as a grades incentive

1. What rules/ guidelines do you now have in place to assure that nothing like this happens again? Would these be administrative changes or has your board set specific policies in place for you to follow in future?

2. Rumors of an affair between Scarlett and Bradigan persisted for several months. You have stated that you have no idea such an affair was going on. Do you feel the fact that you are commuting from your home in Akron (if this has changed, please let me know) has adversely impacted your ability to monitor what's going on with your employees in the Strongsvillecommunity in an important and sensitive area such as this? Has your board since made a condition of your employment that you move to Strongsville and become an integral part of their community?

Regarding the sex education booklet placed last fall in young children's lockers

4. What guidelines did you follow from your established board's policies for such?

5. There appears to be a growing number of parents who want to be consulted before such materials are given to their students. As one mom put it, "What's wrong with so many people in the educational fields that they don't even think twice about providing children with inappropriate materials and not even consider the parents wishes....Their tactics mirror those used in Communist China and Cuba where children are considered not children of parents, but wards of the State." While this is clearly the statement of an upset parent, it does raise an interesting issue regarding public school administrators in the U.S. Do you consider the students in your schools yours to educate as you deem best or the offspring of parents to be consulted before disseminating such materials?

Regarding trainings and conferences

6. Of which education-related associations are you and Strongsville City Schools a member? What are these organizations' guidelines for disseminating such materials?

7. In which education-related conferences have your and your staff participated this past year? Where were they and what were the costs for each? Have you attended any other seminars, workshops or the like offering guidance in this area, and what were those costs?

It may well be that there are perfectly reasonable explanations for your approving the placing sex-education pamphlets in young students' lockers without notifying parents first, and it may also well be that there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for your allowing a teacher to offer a date at the Dairy Queen with herself to a young student; if so, I am eager to learn such reason or reasons.===========She said the booklet, which also provides information on the need for parental consent for abortion and a Web address for the Lesbian/Gay Community Service Center of Greater Cleveland, is inappropriate for 11-year-olds. I believe some sex education needs to be given, but when subjects are discussed or material is given to kids of this nature, a notice should be sent home to the parent and they should be allowed to opt out of the program if they wish, Fleming said. School Superintendent James Gray said he gave an OK for the pocket-sized directories, which were provided to the district by United Way Services in conjunction with the county health department and county commissioners, to be given to students at the high school, middle schools and to sixth graders. Gray said he received two calls from parents who took exception to the booklet's content. I understand that and probably, in retrospect, I should have considered sending a letter along with it as far as an explanation, he said, adding, this is a developing situation. I don't know what we are going to do at this point. Colleen Grady, a city resident and a member of the state school board, said she got calls from four parents concerned about their children getting the directory. Grady, who is also a former city school board member, said she has not personally seen the publication, but they (parents) read me sections over the telephone. She said the state board of education may wish to make a legislative recommendation to the Ohio general assembly, and the board could also consider discussion about adoption of a model policy for the distribution of such materials. Gray said there will be continued discussion, in the district's curriculum and pupil services departments on whether to curtail distribution of materials which are considered to be sensitive, particularly for the younger kids.

(2) FOLLOW-UP

HOME

QUESTION FOR READERS: Am I alone or is there a strong bias in favor of the pro-educationestablishment in the following article? I welcome your feedback.

(1) TEACHER INDICTED

For her seduction of then-17 year old high school student Steven Bradigan, then-Strongsville High School special education substitute teacher Christine Scarlett (39 at the time) was indicted Tuesday by the Cuyahoga County grand jury on 18 counts of sexual battery ("No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another...when any of the following apply: (6) The...offender has supervisory or disciplinary authority over the other person") (statute 2907.03) and 2 counts of "disseminating matter harmful to juveniles" (statute 2907.31).

Steven Bradigan (R) in court last monthasking for custody of his son

James Gray (seated) with unidentified then-Strongsville Community Schools folks

Steve Bradigan succeeded in obtaining joint custody of his now-two year old son by Scarlett last month in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.

FOOTNOTE: The limited self-investigation by Strongsville City Schools, including taking their teacher's word as truth, is one of the chief reasons why incidents like this need to be turned over to investigative authorities immediately. While as a general rule I advocate local control for most situations, it is my observation that in situations where alleged misdeeds occur on public school campuses that school district self-investigation seems most often most weighted in favor of ascertaining that no misdeed occurred rather than ascertaining the truth.

Also, supe James Gray, who at last report still lives not in Strongsville but an hour away in Akron, denied knowing about the molestation initiated by Scarlett while in the employ of Strongsville City Schools or that Scarlett continued to see Bradigan after she was fired, or that she gave birth to his child or that she had made the date-for-grades offer to her students. "I never heard of that in my life," he said, adding that his "first consideration was the safety of our students." (SOURCE--McCarty/Cleveland Plain Dealer) It should be pointed out for clarity's sake that Gray has received no indictments.

In early 2006, when I contacted Diane Swanson, award-winning ethics expert (von WaadenBusiness Administra-tion Professor, Chair of the Ethics Initiative at Kansas State Universi-ty), on the subject of superintendents not living in the school districts they run and from which they earn their paychecks, the following were her comments:

The Bradigans' attempts to hold the school district accountable failed. Their civil suit against the district was dismissed. While no school officials faced consequences, the Bradigans were convicted and placed on probation for failing to report a felony -- the sexual assault of their son.

"Schools don't know about the reporting requirements," Bradigan said. "There needs to be a 'fire drill' for school districts -- when this happens, what do you do?"

The Dispatch series, "The ABCs of Betrayal," found that school districts often fail to report educator misconduct to the Education Department. It also found that since 2000, more than 1,700 educators have been disciplined, but two-thirds returned to the classroom or were issued licenses.

School officials already have pledged change. An online database that tracks Ohio teacher discipline will launch Nov. 1. Gov. Ted Strickland called for a national clearinghouse to track educator discipline.

Darold Johnson of the Ohio Federation of Teachers recommended, among other things, counseling for students who have crushes on their teachers and creating guidelines to govern some types of student-teacher communication, such as text messaging, e-mails and after-hours contact. He also said misconduct in charter schools shouldn't be overlooked.

Thomas Ash, who heads the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, asked lawmakers to give superintendents the power to suspend educators suspected of wrongdoing.

"We do a sleight of hand, a reassignment to make sure the person who is accused doesn't have access to witnesses or to the alleged victim," he said.

Committee chairwoman Arlene J. Setzer, R-Vandalia, said legislators will digest the two days of testimony and decide what changes to the law should be made.

Feb. 24, 2008Alert readers have led me to the following published report regarding a new, different Strongsville High School (below) teacher and a new, different Strongsville High School 17-year old student. Yet again, according to this report, in this new situation Strongsville Schools repeated their prior mistakes in the Christine Scarlett case, again self-investigating, again not following proper reporting requirements, this new incident leading to reader comments along the lines of, "Didn't they learn anything after what our community went through two years ago?"

Police have accused Strongsville school officials of hindering a criminal investigation by failing to promptly report allegations that a teacher had a sexual relationship with a student.

School officials waited for more than a month before alerting Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services in December. And they waited another eight days before calling police, said Police Chief C.W. Goss.

"When such a delay occurs, you can imagine that you're not going to be dealing with fresh evidence," Goss said. "It may ultimately damage our ability to successfully prosecute the case."

The high school teacher has not been charged with a crime, so The Plain Dealer will not name him in this story. He has been on paid leave since Dec. 12.

Both the teacher and the student, a 17-year-old junior, have told school officials that the accusations - first made in an anonymous call to the school in early November - are false.

The teacher, a married father, also denied the allegations in a telephone conversation with a reporter Friday. But he declined to elaborate.

The teen has told investigators that the teacher did nothing wrong. But police Lt. Mark Stepanovich said detectives are not convinced, and are continuing to work with county prosecutors on the investigation.

"The victim has been less than straightforward with us," Stepanovich said. "Her mother wants this case resolved. And if the allegations prove true, she wants him prosecuted. But at this point, we're playing catch-up."

After receiving the anonymous call, school officials conducted an internal investigation and decided the report was not credible, district spokesman Scott Ross said Friday.

But they didn't tell police or Children and Family Services until after they received a letter Dec. 5 that was signed by the parents of a student who is a friend of the teen.

Even then, school officials were less than helpful, said Jim McCafferty, director of Children and Family Services.

"The school wouldn't give us the victim's name, and said they were only doing it [calling Children and Family Services] because they were supposed to," McCafferty said. "Without a name, we couldn't do anything."

McCafferty said school officials were "walking a fine line" in following the law that requires them to immediately report allegations of sexual abuse to police or social services. He said he has turned over to police a tape recording of the initial call from school officials to help determine whether any laws were broken.

Ross said the school complied with the letter of the reporting law. He said police never aired their problems with the timeliness of the report to school officials, and failed to return school officials' calls seeking updates on the status of the investigation.

"I think we need to get beyond the pettiness and focus on the matter at hand," Ross said.

The accusations are a hot topic of instant-messaging conversations on the Internet, causing several parents to worry about their children's safety, Stepanovich said. To his knowledge, though, none of the exchanges has been threatening, he added.

Two years ago, Strongsville school officials were criticized for their delay in reporting allegations against a former substitute teacher. Christine Scarlett eventually pleaded guilty to charges that she seduced the 17-year-old captain of the high school football team. Scarlett, 40, received house arrest and probation for sexual battery last June.

TROUBLINGFEBRUARY 24, 2008 SEARCH AT THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER'SWEBSITE TURNS UP OTHER AREA INCIDENTS

Teacher admits having sex with student01/10/2008A former Lakewood High School English teacher admitted Thursday to having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. William Rabel, 27, was convicted of sexual battery and will be sentenced Feb. 20. He faces up to five years in prison for ...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Science teacher accused of sending inappropriate messages to 2 students11/29/2007A Brooklyn High School science teacher who also coached boys' football and girls' basketball has been on paid leave since Nov. 2 for sending sexually-nuanced e-mails and text messages to two female students. Superintendent Jeff Lampert said the i...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teacher sentenced to two years for sexual battery08/31/2007Renee Smith A high school teacher in Summit County was sentenced to two years in prison for having sex with a student and for giving drugs to him and another student. Renee A. Smith, 37, taught at Springfield High School in Springfield Township...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teacher admits to having sex with student07/10/2007A former special education teacher at Springfield High School pleaded guilty today to sexual battery for having a two-year sexual relationship with one of her students which began when he was 15 years old. Renee Smith Renee Smith, 37, also p...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teacher gets three days in jail for sex with student06/12/2007The Plain Dealer Christine Scarlett and her lawyer John Spellacy Christine Scarlett, the former substitute teacher who seduced the captain of the Strongsville High School football team, was led out of court in handcuffs Tuesd...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lakewood teacher indicted on sex charges05/17/2007Lakewood High School teacher William Rabel was indicted this morning on 29 counts of sexual battery. The 27-year-old English teacher is accused of having sex with a 17-year-old student. Rabel will be arraigned on May 31, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. The i...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buchtel's ex-coach Brown sentenced to 2 years05/16/2007Akron -- A Summit County judge sentenced former Buchtel High School football coach Claude Brown to serve two years imprisonment today for his relationship with a 17-year-old female student. Brown, 41, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of sexu...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teacher accused of sex with 2 boys04/05/2007Police photo Renee Smith, Springfield High School special education teacher Springfield Township -- A special education teacher at Springfield High School is accused of having sex with two male students. Renee Smith, 36, is charged with ...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Priests in sex abuse cases still holding teaching certificates10/09/2006Toledo- Eight priests who have been convicted or accused of child sex abuse continue to hold state-issued certificates to teach in private and religious schools, a newspaper reported Friday. Another priest convicted of possessing child pornography...